I. Local measurements in a liquid-metal two-phase flow under the influence of a magnetic field. II. Analytical study of end effects in liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamic generators

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:6213188

Gherson, P

The first part of the present work is an experimental investigation of the influence of an imposed magnetic field on the local flow pattern in: (1) a mercury-nitrogen pool experiment; and (2) in a vertical mercury-nitrogen pipe flow. The emphasis was put on demonstrating the feasibility of using the hot-film technique for simultaneous measurements, in a liquid metal-gas mixture, of both the liquid phase and gas phase parameters. Preliminary measurements in water-nitrogen have shown the turbulent intensity to increase as a function of the square-root of the local void fraction. In the measurements with mercury-nitrogen, the turbulent intensity was found to be about twice higher than in water at the same void fraction, and to increase with the void fraction at a lesser rate than the 1/2 power. The spectral distribution of the turbulent fluctuations exhibited, in two-phase flow, a region with a negative slope of about (-2.5) as opposed to the (-5/3) slope known from the single-phase turbulence spectra. The magnetic field was found to be less effective than in single-phase flow in suppression the turbulent fluctuations. In the mercury-nitrogen pipe flow, the magnetic field was found to cause dramatic changes in the void distribution of a bubbly flow in which asymmetric conditions existed at the inlet (mixing) section. In the second part of the work, a mathematical model of a MHD generator channel was used to study the reduction of end effects by changing the geometry of the channel, the magnetic field distribution or by inserting electrically insulating vanes in the magnetic end regions.

• OSTI ID: 6213188
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
300104* -- MHD Generators-- Duct Engineering & Fluid Dynamics
42 ENGINEERING
420400 -- Engineering-- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
END EFFECTS
FLUID FLOW
FLUIDS
GASES
GEOMETRY
LIQUID METALS
LIQUID-METAL MHD GENERATORS
LIQUIDS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MATHEMATICS
MERCURY
METALS
MHD GENERATORS
MIXTURES
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
TURBULENCE
TWO-PHASE FLOW